Natural gas (e.g., methane) can be used for fuel and/or as a constituent in some chemical processes. Natural gas may be generated in several ways. These may include but are not limited to extraction from a terrestrial well, being a product of or a by-product from a chemical process, distillation of a hydrocarbon product, etc. Some methods of acquiring natural gas may produce the natural gas under a differential pressure to cause it to flow in a desired direction. For example, natural gas extracted from a terrestrial well may be placed under a differential pressure to cause it to be extracted from the well and/or to cause it to flow through a pipeline of a distribution network. The distribution network can include a well, a gathering line extending from the well, an intrastate or interstate transmission main extending from the gathering line, a city gate (e.g., gate station), and/or a local distribution system. The distribution system may be operated by a local distribution company (“LDC”).
With existing systems, users of natural gas typically tap into the local distribution system of the LDC to obtain a supply of the natural gas. However, conventional systems and methods of doing so may not utilize the first differential pressure to cause the natural gas to flow and/or to provide a pressure in the system intended to receive the natural gas. Furthermore, with conventional systems, users of natural gas may not have ready access to the interstate/intrastate transmission main portion of the distribution network and can be forced to rely on the LDC.
The present invention is directed towards overcoming the above-identified problems.